Automatic pistol.



J. H. WESSON.

AUTOMATIC PISTOL.

APPLICATION FILED oGT.13,1910.

Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

J'OSEPII H. WESSON, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC PIsToL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

appucation med october 13, 1910. serial No. 586,840.

To all rwhom it may concer/n:-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH WEssoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, county of Hampden, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improve-- ment in Automatic Pistols, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to an automatic pistol, and is embodied ina pistol of that type which is known as the gas operated, or blow-backautomatic in which the barrel is stationary, while the hammer is cockedand the chamberopened for extracting the old shell and reloading, by themovement of a breech block which is thrown back by the reaction of thegases when the pistol is red. In a pistol of this class, it isimpossible for the user to release the trigger in the brief interval ofVtime'occupied by the automaticreloadingand cooking of the hammer,sollthat it is necessary to providev the lock mechanism with means forholdin the hammer cocked independently of the trigger action. l i

The resent invention relates to a novel device or performing thisfunction, the natureof the device being such that the construction issimpliied to a large extent, and also rendered positive in its action,easy to assemble, and unlikely to'get out of order.

In accordance with the-invention, the ham-y mer is provided with a searpivotally connected theret and acted upon by a spring which causes thesearto engage a suitable cooking shoulder when the hammer is in its fullcocked position. The trigger, which consists of a linger piece and alongitudi-v nally movable tirlpping member, is adapted,

when pulled, to engage the sear, in order to push the said sear out ofengagement with the said cocking shoulder against the actionV of the sear sprlng. In order that the hammer maybe re-cocked without necessarilyreleasing the trigger, that .part of the Sear or trigger whichcauses thelatter to engage and trip the former, is arranged to be moved out of theway during the cocking action and restored when the trigger has beenreleased.

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of a pistol embodyin te invention, showing the hammer at ful cock, and the trigger in itsnormal osition ready to fire'; 2 is a partial section showing the tiringpin, hammer and trigger in the position assumed by said parts at thetime of tiring; Fig. 3 is a. view, similar to Fig. 2, showin the hammercocked prior to the release o' the trigger after the pistol has beentired; Fig. 4 1s a horizontal section, on the line of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 isa similar horizontal section on the line m5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a frontelevation, partly in section, of the sear and hammer; and Fig. 7 is asimilar view showing a modification.

The pistol embodying the invention is of the usual blow-back type, beingprovided with the barrel A, breech-block B, which contains the firingpin B2, and the magazine chamber C, which is formed in the lpistol gripand adapted to receive the magazine, not shown, Which'delivers thecartridges to the space behind the barrel where the breech block isblown back.

In accordance with the invention, the hammer a which acts upon thefiring pin B2 is pivotally supported at a2 and acted upon by the hammerspring a3 through the plunger a4, the said hammer being held in cockedposition by means of the sear b. The said sear is pivotally connectedwith the hammer vat b2 and acted upon'by a spring b3, located behind themagazine chamber C, and arrangedl to press the sear b forward so that itwill move over and be held by a suitable engagward by the spring bs sothat 1t will snap forward and carry the shoulder b* over the rshoulderC4 as soon as the hammer a is/fully cocked, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

To trip the hammer and fire the pistol, it is necessary that the sear bepushed back against the action of the scar spring, and for this purposeitis arranged to be acted on, when the'pis'tol is cocked, by the triggertripping member d, the' actual engaging arts, however, being so arrangedas not to .ing shoulder when the hammer is cocked.

lnterfere with the independent movements ofthe sear and trigger in thecocking move` ment. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 6, the searis provided with a lateral projection b5 which is adapted to stand'behind the trigger tripping member d when the pistol 1s in condition tobe tired, as shown in Fig. l. The said trigger tripping member consistsof a flat plate which projects from the front toward the rear of thegrip, extending along one side of. the magazine chamber C, so as not tointerfere with the insertion of the magazine therein. The rear end ofthe member d extends into the opening C3 in the rear wall C2 of themagazine chamber, and is adapted to bemoved through said opening to actupon the projection b5 when the trigger finger d2, which is in front bfthegrip, is pressed. The said trigger is normally held forward by meansof a spring Z3 and is limited in its'forward and backwar'd movement byshoulders Z4 and di. These shoulders engage, respectively, with ashoulder formed in the recess at the rear of the trigger guard, and withthe` rear wall -C2 of the magazine chamber at the side of having abeveled upper surface which is in such position as to engage the underside of the trigger trippin member during the cooking movement thehammer and to be forced in thereby during the upward movement of theSear, so that the said sear can travel past the trigger tripping memberand be forced inward into cooking engagement,

regardless of the position of the trigger. This operation is clearlyshown in Figs. 2 and 3, both of which views show the trigger as pulledback, one View, however, showing the hammer in firing position and theother in full cocked position. It will be seen from these views that asthe hammer a is cocked, the beveled projection b5 will be pressed inwardupon engagement with the under side of the trigger tripping member d andlie behind the trigger tripping member when the hammer is at full cock,so that thereis nothing to interfere with the forward movement ofthesearwhich causes the samel to engage with the shoulder C4 at Athe bottom ofthe frame opening. YUpon the release of the trigger, the latter willmove forward under the action of the trigger spring cl3, and as soon asit reaches itsA normal 'forward position, shown in Fig. l, the searprojection b5 will spring outward behind the trigger tripping member d,so as tobe engagedthereby when the trigger is next pulled.

The construction of the sear rojection b5 is best shown in Figs. 4, 5 an6, the said projection consisting of' a pin contained in a recess beextending transversely across the sear, the said recess vcontaining aspring 717, adapted to act upon the back of the pin which islimited inits movement and held vin position by means of a transverse pin bs gagedand pressed inward by the trigger tripping member to correspond with theposition shown in Fig. 3. It-is obvious from Fig. '5 that the pin 'willspring outward behind the tripping member as soon as the said member vismoved forward and the trigger finger d2 has been released.

lt is obviouslyV not essential to the inven` tion that the specificconstruction and arrangement above described should be employed, and thestructure is susceptible of modification without' departing froml theinvention. lt is practicable, for example, to locate the yieldingengaging member on the trigger instead of on the sear, such aconstruction being shown in Fig. 7, in which the trigger tripping memberd is provided with a pin d contained in a socket 037. in thisconstruction, the 'Sear b is provided with a notch b9 having a-'beveledllower edge, the

notch being so positioned as to come in line with the pin when thehammer is in firing position, thus allowing the sear to move forward sothat it can engage the shoulder C* when the hammer is back. As the seartravels upward, it will crowd in the pin d6 if the trigger is stillpulled, but the pin will' snap into place 'in front of the sear when thetrigger moves forward.

What I claim is:

1. In an automatic fire arm, the combination with a movablebreech-block; of a hammer adapted to be. moved into cooking positionthrough the action of said breech block; a sear pivotally connected withsaid hammer and provided with a spring adapted to move it intoengagement with a cocking shoulder when the hammer is` at full cock; atrigger adapted to engage and trip said sear; and means whereby saidsear and trigger are capable of independent movement except when thehammer is cocked.

2. In a fire arm,'the vcombination with a recoil-operated hammer; of asear connected and movable therewith; a trigger tripping membercoperating with said scar; and a movable engaging member carried by oneof said parts and adapted to be engaged by the-other, when the pistol iscocked and ready to be tired. l

3. En an automatic pistol, the combination with a recoil-operatedhammer; of a Sear pivotally connected with said hammer; a spring acting-on said sear; a shoulder adapted to engage and hold said Sear when thehammer is cocked; a longitudinally movable trigger adapted to engage andtrip the said scar; and a depressible projecting member extendinglaterally from said se'ar and normally lying behind the trigger, saiddepressible member being arranged to be depressed by engagement with thetrigger during the cooking movement of the hammer, and to beautomatically moved into place behind the trigger when the latter hasbeen released by the finger.

4. In an automatic pistol, the combination with a movable breech blockcontaining a ring pin; of a hammer adapted to be moved into cockin'gposition by the recoil movement of the breech block; a sear connectedwith said hammer; and adapted to cooperate with a fixed shoulder to holdthe hammer cocked; a trigger member adapted to disengage said sear fromsaid shoulder to iire the pistol; and an engaging device adapted to beautomatically moved into engaging position 'when the hammer and triggerare in firing position, without interering with the independent movementof the sear and trigger.

5. In an automatic pistol, the combination with a hammer; of a movablebreech block adapted to cock the said hammer; a magazine chamber belowthe breech block;

a Sear pivotally connected with the hammer and provided with a searspring adapted to move it toward the rear wall of the magazine chamber;said magazine chamber having an opening through the rear wall, the lowerportion of which opening constitutes a cooking shoulder for the scar; atrigger having a tripping member extending across said magazine chamberinto the opening in the rear wall thereof, the said trigger trippingmember being normally outof the path of the said sear, and an engagingmember connected with one of said parts, and adapted to be automaticallybrought into engaging position when the sear and trigger are in cookingposition.

6. The combination with a recoil operated hammer; of a scar pivotallyconnected therewith; a spring actuated projection extend# ing laterallyfrom said Sear and provided with a beveled surface; a trigger provided vwith a tripping member movable transversely with relation to said searand. adapted to engage said spring actuated projection; and a shoulderadapted to retain said scar when the hammer is at full cock.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification Iinthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH H. WESSON.

Witnesses:

y HAROLD K. SCHOFF,

GEO. P. CHAPIN.

